Detection of carbofuran and metabolites directly or as their heptafluorobutyryl derivatives using gas-liquid or high-pressure liquid chromatography with different detectors.

The gas chromatography of the heptafluorobutyryl derivatives of carbofuran, 3-ketocarbofuran and 3-hydroxycarbofuran is examined with electrolytic conductivity detection (halogen mode). The reaction consists of heating the compounds with heptafluorobutyric anhydride in the presence of trimethylamine catalyst. Although as little as 200 pg of carbofuran, 400 pg of 3-ketocarbofuran and 100 pg of 3-hydroxycarbofuran can be detected by electrolytic conductivity, the minimum detectable quantities by electron capture are about 20-fold less for each derivative. Application to the analysis of carbofuran and 3-ketocarbofuran in corn, potato, turnip and wheat is carried out. This technique is compared to direct gas chromatography in the nitrogen mode and to direct high-pressure liquid chromatography with UV detection at 254 nm using extracts of field-treated turnips.